


Shoes too Big

by Tye



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-19
Updated: 2013-03-19
Packaged: 2017-12-05 18:45:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tye/pseuds/Tye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I’m just a cheap replacement, a girl trying desperately to fit shoes that everyone knows are too big for her."  Endgame AU in which Artemis dies, and Cissie King-Jones is the one to take her place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shoes too Big

Everything about this feels wrong to Cissie. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t be wearing this costume, she shouldn’t be joining this team, and she definitely should not be following in the footsteps of her deceased mentor Artemis.  


Almost six years earlier (Wow, was it really that long ago?) her father was attacked by an assassin as he was putting her to bed. She was terrified he was going to die, but something amazing happened. This beautiful girl dressed head-to-toe in green saved him with her bow and arrows. From that moment on, she absolutely idolized her. That masked vigilante was the reason she begged her parents to let her take archery lessons, the reason she worked out for hours until whole body ached, and the reason she saved her allowance for 6 months to buy a police radio in hopes of finding her again.  


One day she got lucky. A robbery occurred two blocks from her home, and she was there. She learned her name was Artemis, like the Greek Goddess. Somehow, it suited her.  


She asked, no pleaded, with Artemis to teach her everything she knew and take her under her wing. Artemis laughed, and said there was no way she could turn down someone so willing to learn. She became a mentor, a big sister, and a best friend all rolled up into one. Words simply could not express how grateful she was for everything Artemis had taught her.  


When Artemis retired to go to college, she offered her her spot on the team. She turned it down immediately, without even thinking about it. She was still young, and way to rough around the edges. She needed a lot more training before she could be an actual hero, no matter how many times Artemis said otherwise. Besides, what if Artemis decided she wanted to come out of retirement? She’d have no identity to come back to.  


The opportunity came up again a few months ago, when Artemis died in Cape Canaveral. But she shrugged it off yet again. It was too soon after her death to even think about replacing her, and she still wasn’t ready. It turned out her death was a hoax, but before she could even celebrate that she was alive, Artemis died again. She saved the entire planet from an alien invasion, but sacrificed her life in the process. She prayed for some kind of miracle, that it wasn’t true. That this was another ruse and she was actually alive and well, but this time it wasn’t the case. The bravest woman she ever knew was now gone forever.  


It took all her courage, but she hesitantly donned the green uniform, and christened herself as Artemis. Here she was, in an orbiting satellite she didn’t even knew existed until a few months ago, staring up at a hologram the women she would forever admire, but could never live up to.  


Someone rests warm, reassuring hand on her shoulder, “I’m glad you came, Cissie.” She turns to see Wally West, Kid Flash, standing behind her offering this comforting gesture. She’d only met him once or twice, but aside from Green Arrow and Black Canary, he was the only familiar face. She’d yet to meet the rest of the team.  


She smiles weakly, “Thanks, I don’t know why I did though. I still don’t think I’m ready for this.”  


“It might take some time, but trust me, you’ll love it.”  


“You don’t understand, I’m not Artemis, and I never can be! I’m just a cheap replacement, a girl trying desperately to fit shoes that everyone knows are too big for her.”  


“You’re not replacing her, you’re carrying on a legacy. It’s what she would have wanted. You should have heard the way she praised you. She said that in few years, you could be a better archer than she ever was.”  


“Really?” She asks. This has to be a lie, something Wally made up to make her feel better.  


“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. You’d make her proud being here Cissie.”  


She sighs, and stares back up at her hologram, “I just hope don’t let her down.”


End file.
